73% of Americans Have Considered Risky Bets Like Sports Betting and Crypto. Could GLP-1s Change That?
Wharton researchers are now asking whether a weight-loss drug could rewire the financial choices millions of Americans make when they feel too far behind to play it safe.
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A CBS News report by Mary Cunningham, first published October 8, 2026, cited a striking finding from Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study: 73% of Americans actively participated in, or considered pursuing, highly speculative activities like sports betting and crypto because they believed these were more effective at reaching their financial goals than conventional, less risky methods such as index funds.
Northwestern Mutual’s own March release puts that 73% in a smaller group: Americans already using or considering those assets. Among Gen Z, the share rises to 80%. The reason the company reports is feeling financially behind. That points to frustration about slow progress more than a hunger for thrills.
Researchers at the Wharton School are now asking an unusual question. Could GLP-1 drugs, which act on the brain’s reward system, cool that appetite for fast returns? There are no answers yet. The question still tells us something useful about how average Americans make money decisions.
How Much Risk the Average Investor Actually Wants
The FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study investor survey (2024 data, published November 2025) found that 34% of investors feel they need to take big risks to reach their financial goals. Among investors under 35, the FINRA Investor Education Foundation found that share rises to 62%, compared with 16% of investors 55 and older.
Portfolio size shapes the pressure too. Investors holding less than $50,000 agreed at a 46% rate, versus 20% for those with $250,000 or more. The people with the thinnest buffer feel the most urgency to swing for the fences, which matches what Northwestern Mutual found: feeling behind drives people toward shortcuts.
Feeling a need for risk and acting on it are separate things, though. FINRA Investor Education Foundation data show the share of investors willing to take substantial investment risk fell from 12% in 2021 to 8% in 2024. Most investors describe pressure they mostly resist.
Interest in crypto has cooled as well. FINRA reports the share of investors considering crypto fell from 33% to 26% between survey waves. Speculation clusters among the young: the FINRA Investor Education Foundation found 29% of investors under 35 have bought a meme stock or other viral investment, compared with 2% of those 55 and older.
Why the Brain Chases Big, Fast Payoffs
Michael Platt, a neuroscientist and professor at Wharton, told CBS that the brain’s reward system “underlies all consumption decisions.” That network reinforces behavior by making certain choices feel good, and it tends to react more strongly to a possible gain right now than to a modest gain years away.
That bias helps explain the appeal of speculation. An index fund grows slowly and quietly. A sports betting app or a token trending on social media holds out the hope of instant relief for someone who feels behind. Debt makes the pull stronger. The average credit card APR stood at 21% in August 2026, according to Federal Reserve data, and when interest is piling up on a balance, patient saving can start to feel pointless.
What the Wharton Study Is Testing
Platt and his colleagues will test whether GLP-1s suppress temptations such as gambling and luxury purchases by acting on that reward system. The team plans to recruit about 180 participants at the University of Pennsylvania’s MindCORE lab. The study runs from mid-October through around March 2027.
In one MRI task, participants passively view images of spending opportunities, including the Powerball jackpot, with brands and logos removed. In another, they choose between smaller money now and larger money later, and they must follow through on one of their choices. That second task measures patience, the quality steady investing depends on.
Noom, a digital health company, is funding the study. The hypothesis comes from earlier research by Geoff Cook, whom CBS identified as Noom’s CEO. Platt’s overview of the study frames the idea carefully: “There is anecdotal speculation in high-risk professions that dampening reward drive might also dampen appetite for risk and very high returns,” he said, referring to fields such as stock trading. “At the other end of the spectrum, the same shift could potentially help ordinary consumers resist impulsive spending and favor longer-term financial goals.”
The study has produced no results. Until data arrives, any link between GLP-1s and financial behavior is still a hypothesis.
What This Means for the Average Saver
For an average saver, the most useful lesson arrives before any results do. The pull toward speculation is built into how the brain weighs rewards, and FINRA’s data show it gets stronger when people feel behind or hold small portfolios. Willpower makes a weak defense against wiring like that.
Structure works better. Automatic contributions to a retirement account or index fund make the patient choice the default, so the reward system never gets a say. One structural approach to speculative exposure is limiting it at a fixed dollar amount that could be lost entirely without ruining long-term goals, with that number set before the next opportunity shows up. Paying down card debt removes a cost averaging 21%, a certain gain no viral trend can match.
The 73% figure Northwestern Mutual reported reflects real frustration with slow progress. The data favors deliberate habits that put patience on autopilot, while scientists work out whether a drug can change the equation.
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Jake has been been working in financial media for almost 15 years. He focuses on all things personal finance for 24/7 Wall St. with high hopes to educate and entertain. Most recently, Jake spent 12 years working various roles at The Motley Fool. He started copy editing fool.com content, worked on premium and marketing campaigns, and helped launch The Ascent, a personal finance brand.
His work has been featured on platforms like MSN, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, and more. He's written about credit cards, social security, ETFs, savings accounts, and just about anything else you can imagine when thinking about money. Jake love to cook, play golf, and tell people he's never had a cavity. (It's true!)
